News

All the latest news and views from the CPSU team

CPSU Week in Review – Staff respond to cuts

The Battle of TasWater?

IN EVERY battle over water the people working below decks are at risk, which is one reason your CPSU is watching the State Government vs Councils stoush over TasWater carefully.

As the following links below show, the past few days’ media has been boiling over with hyperbole about Treasurer Peter Gutwein’s claims of ‘crisis’ and threat of a government takeover.

In the middle of this mess TasWater has invited the CPSU to meet to discuss what it calls the New Initiatives Productivity Improvement Plan, but what we call, The Big Plan to Privatise Parts of Taswater.

It’s not clear if the push to privatise is TasWater’s attempt to appease Treasurer Gutwein or whether it’s his idea, but if it goes ahead it’ll see good, secure jobs in regional Tasmania disappear and costs currently borne by TasWater being passed on to consumers.

Staff respond to cuts

OVER the past few years our Members in the Department of Justice have been feeling the effects of staff and funding cuts and this lack of resources has put a strain on the services being delivered, so last year Members decided to join together and speak up.

With so many vulnerable people relying on our justice system it’s crucial that staff have enough resources to deliver services that can, in the end, help the wider Tasmanian community.

These staff are as dedicated and professional as you and they need to be supported by government to maintain a high level of service so Tasmanians can receive the help they need and then move on with their lives.

Members in our Courts and Community Corrections acted on these concerns by writing a letter of petition to the Department of Justice Secretary Simon Overland requesting an increase to the level of funding and resources allocated to each of these services.

The letter of petition was a great way to get our message across and we look forward to receiving a response from the Secretary.

Fair Work slashes penalty rates

LAST Thursday many Tasmanian union members got together in Hobart to watch the live broadcast of the Fair Work Commission handing down its decision on penalty rates.

This decision was anything but fair and will see some of the lowest paid workers in our community hit with significant pay cuts at a time when wage growth is at record lows, inequality is on the rise, and Australia becomes a more inequitable country day by day.

In the December quarter of 2016 the share of GDP taken by businesses as profit rose by a massive 20% while at the same time the share of GDP taken by workers as wages fell and the decision to cut the take-home pay of retail and hospitality workers will only see profits increasing further and wages falling faster.

The income of many of these low-paid workers doing Sunday shifts is 100% disposable – it all goes on living expenses – so a reduction in their spending also affects local businesses and the wider community.

Australian Unions have started a petition that we urge you to sign and share and will be fighting hard for a fair outcome so there’ll be activities around this and other issues across Australia.

Struggling with the system

UNIONS Tasmania is presenting a special screening of I, Daniel Blake, the award-winning Ken Loach film about Daniel Blake’s struggle to navigate Britain’s social security system in Britain.

With Australians struggling to access Centrelink services after years of under-funding and job cuts the parallels between Australia and the UK are clear, and the film raises legitimate questions about the essential services we want and need from our governments.

The film won the Palme d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and the Prix du public at the 2016 Locarno International Film Festival.

“This powerful parable about the failings of the benefits system avoids irony and cynicism and treats its troubled characters with humour and humanity” – The Guardian